Cooking container having steam discharge portion

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a cooking container having a steam discharge portion, wherein a lid film attached on the steam container does not need to be opened when seal-packed food is heated and cooked by using a microwave oven, and a uniform pressure can be maintained during heating and cooking so that cooking quality of the corresponding content can be improved.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a cooking container, and more particularly, to a cooking container having a steam discharge portion, wherein a lid film attached on the cooking container does not need to be opened when seal-packed food is heated and cooked by using a microwave oven.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, instant food means processed food that can be easily cooked in a short time and has the convenience in storage, delivery, and carrying.

Instant food is released in the state in which a cooking container with cooked food is heat-sealed at the opening by a lid film. Instant food has an advantage that it can be eaten only by being heated in a microwave oven, hot water, etc.

A cooking container capable of storing instant food is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0414773 (Publish Date: Apr. 24, 2006), etc.

When typical instant food is heated in a microwave oven, the instant food needs to be heated for a specific time after a lid film attached on the container is partially opened. That is, if the instant food is heated in a microwave oven in the state that the lid film is not opened, the inside pressure of the container increases as the corresponding content is heated, and due to a high pressure, an attachment area between the container and the lid film bursts and thus the content may leak out.

Also, there is a problem that although lid films are opened to cook instant food, the cooking qualities of the instant food are non-uniform due to differences between torn-off parts of the lid films according to individual tendencies. That is, when the lid film is opened more than needed, the surface of the corresponding food may dry up, which may cause consumer complaints.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Technical Problem

To solve the above-described problem, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a cooking container having a steam discharge portion, wherein a lid film attached on the cooking container does not need to be opened when seal-packed food is heated and cooked by using a microwave oven, and a uniform pressure can be maintained during heating and cooking so that cooking quality of the corresponding content can be improved.

Solution to Problem

To implement the above-described object, the cooking container having the steam discharge portion according to the present disclosure includes: a main body portion 110 having an accommodating space 111 whose upper portion opens; a flange portion 120 formed at an upper edge of the main body portion 110 such that a lid film 200 is sealed and attached on the flange portion 120; and a steam discharge portion 130 formed in the flange portion 120 and including a discharge opening 131 whose width narrows toward the outside from the inside as seen from above, wherein, when an inside pressure of the accommodating space 111 reaches a predetermined pressure by steam generated during cooking, an adhesive surface of the lid film 200 attached on the steam discharge portion 130 bursts to discharge the steam.

Advantageous Effects of Disclosure

The present disclosure configured as described above includes a steam discharge portion at a side of a cooking container such that the steam discharge portion bursts automatically when an inside pressure of the cooking container reaches a predetermined pressure, wherein a lid film attached on the cooking container does not need to be opened during heating and cooking through a microwave oven. Therefore, a uniform pressure can be maintained during cooking to keep cooking quality uniform and food can be more quickly heated due to application of the inside pressure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cooking container including a steam discharge portion according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a cooking container including a steam discharge portion according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an area ‘A’ of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 5A to 5C show use states of a cooking container including a steam discharge portion according to the present disclosure.

MODE OF DISCLOSURE

Hereinafter, configurations and operations of preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Herein, like components of the drawings are assigned like reference numerals although the components are shown in different drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, a cooking container 100 according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure may include a main body portion 110, a flange portion 120, and a steam discharge portion 130.

The components of the present disclosure will be described in detail, as follows.

The main body portion 110, which forms a main body of the cooking container 100, may include an accommodating space 111 whose upper portion opens to accommodate content that is to be cooked. The main body portion 110 may be made of a synthetic resin material.

More specifically, the main body portion 110 may be round at a plurality of corners, as seen from above. More particularly, the plurality of corners may be three to five corners, and the main body portion 110 may be in the shape of a rectangle having four corners.

Also, connection portions between inner side surfaces and a bottom surface of the main body portion 110 may be round. More specifically, a curvature of the rounded portions may be 5R or smaller. That is, because the accommodating space 111 in the main body portion 110 is round, a steam pressure generated during heating and cooking may be prevented from being concentrated on the corners rather than the steam discharge portion 130.

In this case, on the bottom surface of the main body portion 110, a protruding portion 113 may protrude vertically upward. That is, the protruding portion 113 may space content accommodated in the main body portion 110 a predetermined height from the bottom surface, and through the protruding portion 113, the content may be heated through.

The flange portion 120 may extend outward from the upper edge of the main body portion 110 and have a predetermined width. A lid film 200 (see FIG. 5A) may be attached on the flange portion 120 to seal and pack the content accommodated in the accommodating space 111.

More specifically, a protrusion 121 for attaching a lid film, the protrusion 121 being formed in the shape of a simple closed curve, may protrude from an upper surface of the flange portion 120 to easily seal and attach the lid film 200 thereon. The protrusion 121 may be formed with a uniform width, and on an upper surface of the protrusion 121, a first adhesive surface 121 a may be formed evenly to easily attach the lid film 200 thereon.

Because the protrusion 121 for attachment is formed, content may flow down from the protrusion 121 for attachment at the upper surface of the flange portion 120, after the content is put in the inside of the cooking container 100 and then sealed by the lid film 200, so that sealing safety of the lid film 200 may be improved.

In this case, a protruding thickness of the protrusion 121 may be at least 1 mm or greater, and a draft angle of 1° or greater may be applied straightly upward to facilitate thermoforming using a mold. In addition, the first adhesive surface 121 a may be formed with a width of at least 1 mm or greater.

Referring to FIG. 2, in the steam discharge portion 130, the discharge opening 131 may be formed in the protrusion 121 formed on the upper surface of the flange portion 120, and when steam generated in the accommodating space 111 during heating and cooking reaches a predetermined pressure, the adhesive surface of the lid film 200 may burst to open, thereby discharging the steam.

More specifically, in the steam discharge portion 130, the width of the discharge opening 131 may gradually narrow toward the outside from the inside as seen from above, and the discharge opening 131 may be a plurality of openings arranged in succession. More specifically, the steam discharge portion 130 may include a single discharge opening 131 formed in the shape of ‘V’ or ‘U’, or two discharge openings 131 formed in the shape of ‘W’.

That is, the discharge opening 131 may form an area of the protrusion 121 and extend to the outside of the flange portion 120 with respect to the protrusion 121 to guide steam in the accommodating space 111 to be concentrated toward the discharge opening 131.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, on an upper surface of the discharge opening 131, a second adhesive surface 131 a extending from the first adhesive surface 121 a of the protrusion 121 may be formed to seal and attach the lid film 200 thereon.

In this case, in the discharge opening 131, an inclined surface 131 b inclined downward toward the inside of the main body portion 110 from the outside of the main body portion 110 may be formed, and due to the inclined surface 131 b, the second adhesive surface 131 a formed in the discharge opening 131 may have a narrower width than the first adhesive surface 121 a of the protrusion 121.

That is, steam generated in the accommodating space 111 may be smoothly guided toward the discharge opening 131 by the inclined surface 131 b, and also, the second adhesive surface 131 a having a narrower width than the first adhesive surface 121 a may be set to first burst by a pressure of the steam. In other words, only the second adhesive surface 131 a having a weaker adhesive strength than the first adhesive surface 121 a may burst, and the first adhesive surface 121 a may be maintained in a strong adhesion state.

Referring again to FIG. 2, at least one steam discharge portion 130 of the above-described structure, more particularly, one to four steam discharge portions 130 may be formed at intervals along the protrusion 121, and the steam discharge portion 130 may be formed in at least one corner among the four corners of the main body portion 110. That is, it may be efficient that the steam discharge portion 130 is disposed at a corner of the main body portion 110 at which steam generated in the accommodating space 111 is concentrated.

In addition, an auxiliary discharge opening 133 may be formed in a center of one side of the main body portion 110. The auxiliary discharge opening 133 may be formed in the same shape as the discharge opening 131, although its installation position is different from that of the discharge opening 131. That is, the discharge opening 131 performing a main function of the steam discharge portion 130 may burst first because the discharge opening 131 is positioned at the corner of the main body portion 110, and the auxiliary discharge opening 133 may be positioned at the center of one side of the main body portion 110 at which a steam pressure is less concentrated than at the discharge opening 131.

In other words, the auxiliary discharge opening 133 may be set to burst additionally when there are difficulties in discharging steam generated in the accommodating space 11 only through the discharge opening 131 due to a high steam pressure, so that an inside pressure of the accommodating space 111 may be maintained uniform.

For example, the steam discharge portion 130 may be configured by positioning a pair of discharge openings 131 at both corners of one side of the main body portion 110 and positioning a single auxiliary discharge opening 133 at a center of the opposite side of the main body portion 110.

Meanwhile, in the protrusion 121 for attaching the lid film, a container opening portion 140 may be further formed, wherein the container opening portion 140 is formed in a shape whose width is widened toward the inside from the outside, for example, in the shape of ‘V’, and the container opening portion 140 may have the same width as the first adhesive surface 121 a. The container opening portion 140 may be formed at a center of one side of the main body portion 110 at which a steam pressure is less concentrated than at the discharge opening 131.

In this case, the container opening portion 140 formed at the center of the side may increase an attachment area between the lid film 200 and the side of the main body portion 110 upon heating and cooking, thereby improving a sealing force in the cooking container 100 so that the discharge opening 131 is easily torn off according to an increase in a steam pressure. In addition, a sharp part of the container opening portion 140 may extend toward the outside of the protrusion 121, and therefore, after heating and cooking is completed, a user may easily open the cooking container 100 by pulling the lid film 200 attached on the container opening portion 140.

Also, in the lid film 200 attached on an upper surface of the container opening portion 140, preferably, an extension portion (not shown) may extend outward in the shape of a semicircle to enable the user to easily tear off the lid film 200.

Hereinafter, an operation of the cooking container 100 including the steam discharge portion according to the present disclosure of the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5C.

First, as shown in FIG. 5A, the cooking container 100, in which food is put in the accommodating space 111, may be put in a microwave oven to heat and cook the food. At this time, the lid film 200 may be not opened.

Referring to FIG. 5B, as the food is heated, temperature may rise. The rising of the temperature may generate steam from the content, and the generated steam may increase an inside pressure of the main body portion 110. As a steam pressure in the main body portion 110 increases, the lid film 200 may start being inflated.

Referring to FIG. 5C, when the steam pressure in the main body portion 110 reaches a predetermined pressure, the adhesive surface of the lid film 200 on the discharge opening 131 positioned at a corner of the main body portion 110 may first burst to open. That is, the second discharge opening 131 a of the discharge portion 131, the second adhesive surface 131 a having a narrower width than the first adhesive surface 121 a of the protrusion 121, may first burst, so that the lid film 200 may discharge the steam generated in the accommodating space 111.

In this case, when there are difficulties in smoothly discharging the steam generated in the accommodating space 11 only through the discharge opening 131 due to a high steam pressure of the accommodating space 111, the auxiliary discharge opening 133 positioned at the center of the opposite side of the main body portion 110 may burst additionally.

Therefore, steam in the main body portion 110 may be maintained at a uniform pressure, and even after the discharge opening 131 is opened, a steam pressure may not fall sharply, and thus, content may be cooked smoothly.

While the present disclosure has been particularly shown and described with reference to example embodiments thereof, various modifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS] 100: cooking container 110: main body portion 111: accommodating space 113: protruding portion 120: flange portion 121: protrusion 121a: first adhesive surface 130: steam discharge portion 131: discharge opening 131a: second adhesive surface 131b: inclined surface 133: auxiliary discharge opening 140: container opening portion 200: lid film 

1. A cooking container comprising: a main body portion including an accommodating space whose upper portion opens; a flange portion formed to seal and attach a lid film on an upper edge of the main body portion; and a steam discharge portion formed in the flange portion and including a discharge opening whose width narrows toward the outside of the cooking container from the inside of the cooking container as seen from above, wherein, when an inside pressure of the accommodating space reaches a predetermined pressure by steam generated during heating and cooking, an adhesive surface of the lid film attached on the steam discharge portion bursts to discharge the steam.
 2. The cooking container of claim 1, wherein the main body portion includes a plurality of corners and the plurality of corners are rounded, as seen from above.
 3. The cooking container of claim 1, wherein, in the main body portion, connection portions between inner side surfaces of the accommodating space and a bottom surface of the accommodating space are round.
 4. The cooking container of claim 2, the steam discharge portion is formed in at least one corner of the plurality of corners of the main body portion.
 5. The cooking container of claim 1, wherein the steam discharge portion is formed in a protrusion for attaching the lid film, the protrusion protruding from an upper surface of the flange portion and formed in the shape of a simple closed curve.
 6. The cooking container of claim 5, wherein the steam discharge portion further comprises an inclined surface inclined downward toward the inside of the main body portion from the outside of the main body portion.
 7. The cooking container of claim 6, wherein an upper surface of the protrusion comprises a first adhesive surface for causing the lid film to be easily attached on the upper surface of the protrusion, and on an upper surface of the discharge opening, a second adhesive surface extending from the first adhesive surface and having a narrower width than the first adhesive surface by the inclined surface is formed.
 8. The cooking container of claim 6, wherein the steam discharge portion further comprises an auxiliary discharge opening formed in a center of one side of the main body portion.
 9. The cooking container of claim 5, wherein, in the protrusion for attaching the lid film, a container opening portion is further formed in a shape whose width is widened toward the inside from the outside.
 10. The cooking container of claim 1, wherein the discharge opening is a plurality of openings arranged in succession. 